Shrewsbury, Shropshire: Hygrothermal Modelling of Shrewsbury Flax Mill Maltings
Author(s): Paul Baker
The report describes hygrothermal simulations of the second floor of the South Engine House at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings to predict the impact of a range of internal wall insulation systems over a period of thirty years. Simulation results using WUFI indicate that 1-D modelling is generally satisfactory for a range of scenarios. Uncertainty will result from using alternative material data from the WUFI database compared with the actual material in the Flaxmill case. Thirty year simulations indicate that insulation systems which are hygroscopic with some vapour resistance are possibly the best option to reduce risk of moisture problems in internal wall insulation, whereas materials unable to buffer moisture or having a high vapour resistance may, in the worst case, allow a long term build-up of moisture. WUFI is a useful tool which can be used to assess options for upgrading the thermal performance of traditional buildings, provided we know the material properties of our traditional materials. However, as the simulations results reported show, unknown boundary conditions such as absorption of driving rain may produce a high level of uncertainty.
- Report Number:
- 88/2015
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 35
- Keywords:
- Building and Landscape Conservation Walls Insulation Moisture Internal Hygrothermal Modelling WUFI Simulation
